Andrew Symonds, Australia's saviour in the second Test, confessed he had nicked Ishant Sharma to Mahendra Singh Dhoni while batting on 30 and said he owed his unbeaten century to umpire Steve Bucknor's generosity.
Australia were gasping for breath at 134 for six when Symonds (137 not out) joined hands with Brad Hogg (79) to steady the rocking boat. Some poor umpiring decisions only helped their cause.
"I was out when I was 30," Symonds admitted without batting an eyelid after his century took Australia to 376 for seven at the SCG on Wednesday.
Symonds was given at least one life early in his innings when he edged Ishant, still 70 runs short of his second Test century.
As Indian cricketers agonised over the decision, Bucknor remained unmoved. Symonds had another reprieve on a stumping chance before making good with a 173-run record stand with Hogg to bail his side out.
"I was very lucky. I was out when I was 30 and given not out," Symonds said.
"That's cricket though. I could sit here and tell you about some bad decisions as well. That's the game. It's one of those things."
But on a day where the howlers weren't confined to Symonds's dig -- Ricky Ponting was given not out by Mark Benson on 17 when out caught behind and then sent packing LBW on 57 when clearly not out -- umpiring standards and the use of technology became a hot topic.
Former Test players Steve Waugh and Ian Healy suggested changes might be necessary to shake up an under-performing group of world umpires but Symonds said he'd be reluctant to tinker with the game in the form of constant TV replays and referrals.
"I don't think the game needs to go to the point of every decision gets referred," the Queenslander said.
"Let's not push and prod it and poke it too much, I think it's a pretty good game. It's a great game.
"People make mistakes, players makes mistakes every day. Umpires make mistakes too, it's how you handle them and how you keep going when that mistake has been made," he said.
Waugh said he thought "four obvious errors in one day...is poor concentration" and called for the neutral umpire system to be scrapped to allow the homegrown world's best official Simon Taufel to stand in Australian Tests.
Healy said he thought the "captain's challenge" concept might be worth looking at again as a way to harness available technologies and give players a chance to dispute an umpire's call.
"So an umpire wouldn't have that feeling in his heart that he'd wrecked a Test," Healy said on Channel Nine.
Ultimately, Symonds' admission will be small consolation to the Indians, who started the day with aggressive inroads into Australia's batting line up but finished it on the back foot.
India's two bowlers, R P Singh and Harbhajan Singh, had put the side on top before the rescue act was staged.
"Australian teams have always prided themselves on being able to fight back and having that mental toughness. This team is no different," Symonds said.
Symonds said that a total of 400 on the present SCG pitch could test out the Indians.
A Channel Nine spokesman said yesterday the use of their array of technology - the snickometer, Hawkeye and the Hot Spot - would currently see the game halted for at least a minute to be formatted and presented to an umpire. A technical glitch could see the match held up for several minutes.
Like Ponting, players have mostly expressed resistance to the concept of time-wasting technology in the game.
